CLEVELAND, Ohio — A ruling by state regulators will significantly reduce new annual costs to consumers that FirstEnergy can charge for storm repair expenses by spreading those expenses out over time.
The revised base electricity rates just approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio will still rise starting March 1 for customers of Cleveland Illuminating Company and Ohio Edison compared to what they pay now.
However, they will see less dramatic increases than what the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio initially approved last November.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio just ruled that FirstEnergy must spread out $245 million in storm repair costs over 25 years instead of five years.
Originally, customers were expected to cover about $49 million per year.
Now, that drops to roughly $9.8 million annually.
FirstEnergy will now recover about $9.8 million per year — nearly $40 million less annually than originally approved — with the costs spread out over 25 years.
News 5 reached out to FirstEnergy for comment.
A spokesperson told us:
"FirstEnergy is reviewing the order. Until we're able to complete that review, we won't have any additional information to provide."
